Category Archives: Cookies

Want a cookie? How about a soft oatmeal cookie studded with golden raisins and toasted walnuts? Hard to say “no” to that!

This cookie combination was a third installment in the tradition of morning birthday cookies for the Artist. He’s been on the oatmeal kick lately, so these have seemed to fit in quite perfectly. The latest copy of the Allrecipes.com magazine ran a story on the most popular cookie selection, and I found the recipe for the Soft Oatmeal Cookies. I halved the recipe and added the fruit and nut. These were a hit!

Now all you have to do is sing “happy birthday” and pour in a cup of milk or glass.

Happy baking!

I would definitely bake these again. Chewy, sweet, healthy-tasting, with a nice crunch from the walnuts. This recipe lends itself to many variations – how about pecans and dried cherries or pistachios and dried apricots? Give these a try!

Why are the Snowmen sad? Because they are melting! These just might be the cutest decorated cookies you will see this year. I got to work on this video with Allrecipes and decorate each one of these cuties, one by one.
The recipe for Melted Snowman Cookies is easy enough. It uses two dozens of sugar cookies that you can bake and cool yourself, or pick them up from your favorite bakery. And since the cookies are covered almost completely by the icing, feel free to try this with chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal.

When making the cookies for our video, we decided to skip the steps of microwaving the marshmallows. Ours looked droopy enough and easily stuck to the icing. This also saved us a few minutes – and who can argue with the saved time?

The best part of this project is certainly decorating! Use your favorite colored decorating gels to add eyes, mouths, carrot nose, hands and outfit to each Snowman. I’d recommend making a few extra for practice.

For a more believable presentation, we arranged these cookies on a bed of shredded coconuts and dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Let it snow! And may you have a very happy holiday season!

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Alright, so you wouldn’t eat these every single day, but on a special occasion, why not? We made multiple batches of Deep Fried Oreos at Allrecipes.com the other day, and let’s just say that everyone who tried these was a fan!

Here’s the video for making this state-fair-favorite dessert. It’s on the homepage today!

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This is one of the recent videos I prepared and styled for Allrecipes.com ~ Hedgehog Cookies. Aren’t they adorable? Because displaying the cookies on their own would not be as much fun, I decorated a purchased cake log with frosting and a selection of pine cones and moss. To make it come to life, I cut up a few marshmallows to create mushrooms growing out of the log. For the finishing touch, a sprinkle of unsweetened cocoa over the top.

And then of course the Hedgehog Cookies! Dipped in melted chocolate, covered with chopped nuts, and piped with chocolate to create the sweet faces. Who can resist?

I remember when my family moved to our first house. We were just a few years into our adventures in the United States, still adjusting to the culture and traditions of our new country. I must have been fourteen years old. There was a knock on the door. A couple, middle aged, was standing at the door, holding a plate of cookies. “Welcome to the neighborhood!” they said.

Fast forward many years. The Artist and I moved into our home. A few weeks later, there was a knock on the door and another plate of cookies, with sprinkles.

Turns out that while we were on vacation, our neighbors moved away and we came back to a new family living next door to us. They mowed a strip of our grass and asked if it was ok to use our driveway to move in their piano. We exchanged a few words and our names. I found out I have a Russian accent, as if I didn’t know that already.

And then, I baked a batch of Chocolate Chip, Coconut, Cherry and Oatmeal Cookies to take next door for our neighbors. The tradition continues!

As a major side note, this was the first time I used my generous and beautiful birthday gift from some of my dear girlfriends – thank you!

For the cookies, prepare a batch of chocolate chip cookies according to the 12 ounce chocolate chip bag. Mix in 1/2 cup of each: shredded coconut, dried cherries, and oatmeal. Bake according to directions.

The extra cookies went to work with me and the Artist to share with coworkers.

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Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. You couldn’t miss it even if you tried. Pink, red, hearts, teddy bears and frilly white objects are everywhere. It is like they were blown confetti, spilling uncontrolled around.

Just in time for the love holiday, I had to decorate sugar cookies at work for Allrecipes.com video production team. This was one of my first videos taking charge and we baked Pope’s Valentine’s Cookiesin various heart sizes. A little bit of colored frosting went over the top and then we went to town writing sweet sayings and decorating with heart and sugar sprinkles.

I hope you Valentine is sweet. I will post the video link once it is available.

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The cookie swaps are happening across America! They are in the neighbor’s home, at a friend’s apartment, and even at work! Today at Allrecipes.com we held our own cookie swap and quite a few of us participated. I loved sampling a selection of delectable, chewy, crisp, sweet, and irresistible cookies.

My contribution? Chocolate Shortbread Cookies with Almonds, Ginger and Clementine ZestThese cookies came to life based on a Chocolate Shortbread Cookies by Ghirardelli.This basic, straight forward recipe got a makeover with the help of my friend Dana, a fellow graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. Following a lovely dinner at home, I suggested Dana helps me bake the cookies, and she was more than eager to help. Thank you! We added freshly grated ginger and clementine zest to the dough and studded with toasted almonds. Rather than baking these as separate cookies, we pressed the dough into a baking sheet, baked it whole and then cut it in shape. Happy holidays!

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I might not be Martha Stewart, as much as I might want to be, but I do know a thing or two about cookie decorating. In time that it took a bunch of 5th graders decorate dozens of cookies, smearing icing everywhere in sight, and sneaking in an occasional chocolate chip or two, I decorated six cookies.

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The holidays are just around the corner! If you want to gift your family and friends with delicious, freshly baked biscotti, but don’t have the time, I am here to help!

Select from several varieties, or pick your personal favorite combination of dried fruit and nuts

*Cranberry and Walnut*Orange, Cranberry and Pistachios *Raisin and Pecan*Apricot and Walnut*Poppy Seed and Lemon*Ginger and Almond*Chocolate Chip and Walnut*Clean Your Pantry: combination of dried fruit and nuts

You will get a dozen of biscotti cookies per order, baked to order. Each biscotti is approximately 4-5″ in length, and 1/2″ in width. $15/dozen plus shipping.

I am so excited to take part of Cookies Across America with Allrecipes and Nestlé Toll Housetomorrow! I will be joining Allrecipes staff and a group of Seattle food bloggers to decorate cookies that will be later donated to Pikes Place Senior Center.

For those of you who can’t make it tomorrow but still want to participate, please pledge to bake cookies during this holiday season and share them with those in need.

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I don’t bake often. There are more than one reason for this – the restriction of following a recipe, somewhat lack of experience (catch 22) and potential access to extra calories. But that’s “my problem.”

When I teach cooking classes, however, I often include a dessert recipe for my students. During one of my latest cooking classes, Summer Picnic, which included a Summer Picnic Potato Salad, I thought a cookie would fit right in.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Continue to beat until ingredients are well combined.

3. Sift together flour, salt and baking soda to eliminate any possible clumps, combine ingredients, and add a little bit of air for a lighter cookie texture. Add dry ingredients into the butter, sugar and egg mixture. Stir just enough to combine, do not over beat. Add chocolate chips, sour cherries and pecans. Combine together.

4. Remove the cookie dough from the bowl, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour. Without refrigeration, the dough is too soft and the cookies will spread out in the oven when baking.

5. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out the cookies onto the cookie sheets, leaving about 1.5-2 inches in between. Depending on the size of the scoop you are using, bake the cookies 12-20 minutes. If baking both cookie sheets in the same oven, rotate them half way through the baking process to ensure even doneness.

6. Transfer the cookies from the baking sheet to a cooling rack. If you can resist, wait for the cookies to cool completely, otherwise, go ahead and eat!

These were quite amazing! If you choose to use sweet cherries instead of sour, I suggest you cut down on sugar. Leave your pecans and cherries a bit chunky – your taste buds will thank you.